Can I pay cheques in Sterling into my Spanish Account?

Hi all,

A simple question (from a simple person) which should generate a simple answer:

I now live in Spain and have a Spanish bank account with Sabadell.
I have received 2 cheques from the UK in pounds sterling - 1 is for a small Premium Bond win & the other is for a successful PPI claim.
Both cheques must be paid in before I return to the UK next year or else they become void.

My question is:

Is it possible to pay these cheques (Both in Pounds Sterling) into my Spanish bank account or must they be paid into my English bank account?
I don't want a wasted trip to the bank.

All advice appreciated.

Regards
Martin

Not sure on that better to check with your bank, you will not get a good rate tho may be better to ask a member of your family or friend back in the UK?

Depends on your bank but yes it is possible but could cost around 10% Ouch!. they used to charge Comision de negociacion plus Comision de cambio. The only way to find out the exact amount is ask the bank, it would better to send them to someone in the UK and get them to put them in for you if you can, it could take a couple of weeks for the cash to be in your account as well.

Last time we paid a UK cheque into our Spanish bank account, it took over 2 weeks to clear and we had to pay 10% on it. it was a cheque for £2,000 so had to pay £200 in commission (yes, ouch).
Next time I got a UK cheque I posted it to my bank in UK and it was cleared straight away.

Thanks Pete31, Scubydoo & Marcliff for your prompt replies.


Think I'll pay them into my British bank account!

That's the best way to do it.
Wait until a sum has built up in the UK bank and then use an FX company to transfer it to your Spanish bank at a good rate.

In addition to the answers above I would assume the cheques, particularly the Premium Bond one is being sent originally to an address in the UK - To save any hefty fees for you and bother for your family sending any cheques to Spain next time, why not send (or give )them a few paying-in slips for your UK account and they can pay it in directly for you to your UK bank.

Jan

Also with the Premium Bonds you can opt to have it reinvested provided you haven't maxed out on the amount you are allowed you can do this online I think.